The port of Maputo is setting
new benchmarks for the
handling of bulk cargo following
investment in new equipment and
systems.
According to Gerhard Botha,
chief operating officer of the
Maputo Port Development
Company (MPDC), the investment
in the port
is aimed at
improving
efficiencies in
order to help
mines contain
costs in the face
of the global slowdown in the
demand for raw materials.
An example of the results to
date is the loading of a geared
188m LOA (length overall) vessel.
The port’s two new Liebherr
mobile cranes were deployed to
load 50 500 tons through a drop
stow in all five hatches.
The highest tonnage achieved
was on day two, when 16 829 tons
were loaded in 24 hours.
The best achievement was
the night shift of February 4,
which achieved a productivity
of 413 GTPH (gross tons per hour)
or 421 NTPH (net tons per hour).
The vessel was planned at 220
tons per hour, which would have
taken 4.7 days.
At an average of 306 tons per
hour she was
loaded in 3.4
days, or 1.3 days
early.
“This means
our mobile
harbour
cranes are starting to show their
potential,” he says.
Other upgrades to the port
to enable it to handle bulk
exports more efficiently include
the dredging of the channel
to -14 metres, the building of
dedicated storage areas for
different commodities and the
modernisation of the handling
equipment.
INSERT
413
Best GTPH achieved
